Shadows Within: Storms
by Ayumi Elric
Summary: Winry didn't like that Ed was lying to her. She knew that he was hiding something from her. And she was determined to find out what. She just didn't know the truth could be so horrible...[Slight EdxWin, Implied AlxWin]
1. Storms

**This is by far, one of my longest oneshots...it's hard to...stretch things out...**

**Anyway, this is the first in a long series of oneshots! Me and my Auntie have come to notice that there aren't enough evil!Al fanfics out there, even though there's tons of clues that Al is in fact deranged, pychotic and homicidal (which actually proves that I'm deranged, psychotic and homicidal...) **

**---**

"Please don't go!"

The very heavens had opened up through the stormy clouds, releasing buckets of rain onto the small town of Risembool. Water slid down both boys as they stood outside the Rockbell house. Cold golden jewels bored into her eyes as Edward stared her down, his expression hard and stony. Then he smiled slightly, planting the smallest ray of hope into her. "I'm sorry, Winry. We have to. You know why." He glanced at his younger brother, who watched the two of them just feet away. Water glided down the large metal suit his soul was encased in.

Winry frowned, feeling the shadows of tears filling her eyes. "Please...don't..." She barely made out, her voice lost in despair. An aching but familiar feeling filled her chest; the feeling that she would never see them again, that something horrible was to happen. Edward sighed, gently taking her hands in his. Ocean blue eyes widened as he pulled her into a comforting hug. "Don't cry." He said simply as he broke the hug. "And quit worrying so much! Nothing's going to happen to us. Right Al?"

Alphonse nodded, stepping closer to the both of them. "That's right. We're just going to be where our house was for a bit. It'll be really quick. When we come back, we have a surprise for you."

Winry crossed her arms over her chest and frowned again. "Fine. Promise you'll be right back?"

"Promise." Al chuckled, and Winry almost thought she could see him smiling through the armor. Al gently stroked her cheek with a metal hand, and he and his brother both waved goodbye. And with a swish of a scarlet robe and a flash of silver, they were gone, disappeared into the storm.

_**x.O.x. Shadows Within x.O.x.**_

_**Storms**_

They're taking too long.

Winry bit her lip nervously as she pulled apart the curtains and gazed out the window again, searching through the fields for any signs of the two brothers. Sighing in disappointment, she closed the curtains and resumed pacing the room in circles. _What could be taking them? _Winry stopped in midstep, running her fingers through her blonde hair.

She shook her head to herself, biting her lip once more. "Quit worrying! They said they'd be right back!" She told herself defiantly. Glancing at the window again, she quickly strode over to it and tore the curtains apart, once again scanning the fields. The rain had long since lifted, rays of sunshine now drying the unsettled rain.

Her eyes narrowed as the smallest spark of light set off in the distance. She quickly let go of the curtains and rushed towards the door. She knew something bad was going to happen.

_**.x.O.x.**_

It had started to rain again. Water soaked the bottoms of her pants legs as droplets splashed around her. Winry ran through the quickly growing storm, her breath coming out in pants that misted in the air in front of her. Dread slowly crept into her mind with every step she took.

Lightning streaked the sky and filled the air with light for a brief moment. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she ran faster through the rain. Thunder's crash chased her down the road as she finally caught sight of the remains of the house. She could see a figure standing in the foundation, head bowed low and just made it out to be Ed. Quickening her strides, she approached the pathway to the house. Her eyes widened as she stopped dead in her tracks.

Lightening illuminated the air again, but to Winry it seemed like the light hung in the air, shining light on this horror scene. Edward was alone, standing in the center of a transmutation circle cut into the soft ground. His fists were clenched at his sides, his front drenched in a dark liquid that ran fast onto the ground. He was staring blankly at the ground, most of his face hidden by his long, golden bangs. And what he was staring at was Al's armor, its pieces littering the muddy ground.

Winry's mind numbed on the spot. Her knees gave way and buckled, causing her to fall to her knees, soaking up dirty water with a splash. Tears flooded her eyes, blurring her sight until she let them fall over her face like rain. "Oh…oh, no…please, no…" She choked out. Ed twitched when he heard her, lifting his head to look at her. His eyes looked small and empty to her. He was crying too. Winry was forced to accept the truth and let out a loud wail of despair.

Al was gone.

_**.x.O.x.**_

The thunder crashed again, making the windows rattle behind closed curtains. Both of them were back inside, dripping wet with rainwater. Ed was sitting on the couch, holding his head up with his hands, staring unemotionally at the floor. Winry watched him from beside the entrance, too tired and weak to even cry anymore. An aching feeling was left in her chest, like half of her heart was ripped out, leaving the other bloody, mangled half to stand on its own. Shaking her head slightly, she got off from leaning on the wall and advanced toward Edward, her arms folded over her chest. "Ed?"

He flinched, slowly turning to stare hopelessly at her. She grimaced at that, trying to ignore the despair she felt radiating off him. "How…did this happen?"

Ed avoided her eyes, choosing instead to stare at the floor once more. It took a couple of anxious minutes before he could answer, slowly and quietly. "I…don't know. Al said he might've figured out how to get a body again…we went to try it. I was so stupid…why didn't I wait until we were sure…I…just…" He trailed off, clenching his hand into a fist. "I'm such an idiot…I lost Al again…and this time he can't come back…"

Winry sighed, slowly walking closer to him. "Well, Ed…maybe this can get better, later on…" She muttered, gently touching Ed's shoulder. He snapped his arm back, suddenly glaring at her. "What do you know?! You didn't know Al like I did!" He shouted angrily, jumping to his feet. "Why don't you just leave me alone?" Ed grimaced, his hand up to clutch at his chest in pain. Her eyes widened. Winry reached for him to try and help when he smacked her hand away. Glaring at her, he turned and ran out of the room, stomping up the stairs.

Winry sighed and frowned, glancing at the window. _Maybe…I can go gather Al's armor for Ed. We could burry it or something…_She flinched and frowned deeper, forcing herself to not cry as she headed outside.

_**.x.O.x.**_

Upstairs, Ed slammed shut the door of the room he and Al were borrowing. Pausing to rest against the shut door, he panted hard trying to catch his breath and winced, clutching his chest again. Bowing his head lower to hide his eyes under his bangs, he smirked. "Heh…that was close. I almost blew it right there." Wincing, he drew his hand away from his chest and looked at it with another grimace. His palm was covered with crimson blood.

Lightning flashed across the sky.

_**.x.O.x.**_

The sudden flash of light in the sky made Winry jump, quickening her pace in through what was left of the Elric household. Frowning as she carefully stepped over old stones, she approached the transmutation now only slightly altered by the pounding rain. Shaking water from her eyes, she caught sight of the remaining armor and slowly went to it, almost scared to touch it. Bending down, she started pulling the muddle steel from the ground when another flash of lightning shone light on another item she had failed to see. Furrowing her eyebrows and frowning, she reached for it and unearthed it, peering at it through the darkness. Thunder crashed loudly in the background, drowning out her startled gasp as she identified the item.

It was a dagger, twisted and dripping with blood.

_**.x.O.x.**_

Winry was slowly walking down the road back to her house, her arms wrapped around the armor head she chose to bring back with her. Her mind was flooded with thoughts. What was the dagger for? Was Ed lying to her? What really happened back there? She shook her head hard. It wasn't the time to think about that. She had to hurry and get back so she could ask Ed for help with moving the rest of the armor. Feeling a wave of sadness wash over her heart again, she flinched, looking up from the ground to see her house coming into view.

Ed was standing outside it, his back to her and his scarlet jacket off. Hearing her come, he turned to watch her coming closer, his jacket in a bundle sitting in his arms. He glanced down at it when she had stopped, staring curiously at it. He smiled softly, sadly. "Saw it walking around in the rain...just felt like saving it..." He laughed gently, sounding weak and small. "It's funny...Al used to do the same thing. All the time, he'd just find some stray and...hide it somewhere...trying to save it..."

She simply stared at him, unable to follow. He shook his head, placing the bundle down with a sigh. "Remember...? That one time, when we were all kids, Al got this kitten and hit it in his shirt, but we found out and kept asking him about it. And I asked him if he had a cat on him, and he quickly said 'No'. Then the cat meowed and gave it all away." He laughed again, the emptiness returning into his amber eyes. "Al was always a terrible liar..."

She stared as he trailed off, the both in an uncomfortable silence. Ed sighed again, looking at her and catching sight of the armor she was still holding. He twitched disapprovingly. Winry caught his faze and looked away to avoid his eyes. "Um...I was just thinking that we should gather up Al's armor...we could bury it near your mother-" She cut herself off, staring at him. His back had stiffened for a second. He shrugged, stepping down. "Fine. Wait for me here." He walked back her, his hands shoved into his pockets. Winry watched him walk out of view and quickly dropped to her knees on the porch, unwrapping the jacket from its tight bundle.

A small mewling sound came from the jacket as a small cat poked its head out and tilted its head cutely. Crawling out, it sat on the ground besides the jacket and began licking itself clean.

Winry watched it for a moment, before turning back to the jacket. Unfolding it, her suspicions were confirmed. A rip had formed into the jacket, and it was completely drenched in blood.

Letting out a low his, she quickly glanced behind her shoulder with a frown, making sure he was still out of sight. Something was up, and she was going to find out what.

_**.x.O.x.**_

It had to be somewhere, just, where? Winry knew that Ed would probably be more careful about where he'd put important documents.

But this wasn't about Ed. It was about Al.

She knew she was running out of time. Any second he could come back, expecting her to be waiting for him. She was rummaging through stray documents on the desk in Ed's room, skimming every page that could have the information she needed.

Diagrams and text about complicated transmutations and alchemy calculations whizzed past her eyes, making her overwhelmingly dizzy. How can anyone manage to understand any of this?

Brushing her blonde hair out of her face, she let out an angry hiss, banging down the now crumpled papers in frustration. The desk rattled under the force, knocking down a small box she had failed to pay attention to. It opened, folded papers spilling from its depts. Her eyes widened as she grabbed them.

_**.x.O.x.**_

She stood on the porch, waiting for Ed to come back. Hot tears stung at her eyes, her face paled into a ghostly white since she learned the truth. It made her sick to her stomach that something, no, anyone could even think of something like this. And it wasn't the first time this had happened. Clutching the papers tighter from behind her back with trembling fingers, she waited on.

A few minutes later, Ed appeared onto the road, slightly muddier then before. The storm was getting worse, sending torrents of rain down. Quickly running into the shelter of the porch, he looked curiously at Winry, wondering about the look she was giving him. "You okay?"

She gulped hard, biting her lower lip, trying hard not to just blurt out that she knew his secret. _Relax. Stay calm. _She told herself, swallowing again.

"Ed..." She started, purposely adding emphasis to his name with a grimace. "Tell me again...how...did Al die?" She asked; a suspicious glint in her eyes. She was giving him one last chance to tell the truth.

He stiffened slightly, a guarded, blank look appearing behind his eyes. "...the transmutation for his body failed, Winry...what's this about?"

She frowned, pulling the papers from behind her back. For one fleeting second, he looked innocent, completely confused. Then horror widened his eyes. She let them go, letting them float heavily in the humid air. "You said it yourself...you're a terrible liar. You always have been." She breathed, unable to stop her voice from cracking. Feeling tears run down her face, she turned and ran into the house.

He stared after her, then looked down, watching water soak into his research papers. Frowning deeply, he went to pick them up but stopped, choosing against it. It's not like he needed them anymore.

"She knows." He whispered to himself, his hand reaching for the silver watch hanging at his side. He gripped it and tugged it off its chain, pulling it up to look at the design. "I'll have to dispose of her."

Pocketing the watch, he clapped his hands and swept his flesh hand over his automail arm, alchemic sparks transforming it into a blade. He sighed as he started to go into the house after her.

"Don't worry, Brother. Winry will join you soon."

-Owari

I think it's sad that there's no synonym for blood. I get tired of saying it so many times, y'know? I mean, sometimes I can just describe it without saying the word 'blood' but that's really it. But, then again, I think it's sad that I use the word 'blood' so many times to get tired of it. Mwahaha...ha, I'm so morbid. 3 Anyway, hope you liked it! X3

Please review!! I'm expecting alot of flames on this, so don't let me down, my critics!!! -laughs madly into a coughing fit-


	2. Memories in the Rain

**Okay, I totally didn't mean for this to have 2 chapters, but this idea wouldn't get out of my head, and I had to get rid of it somehow! So anyway, here it is. AlxWin forevah!**

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"You mean you've figured out a way to get your body back?" Ed's voice was full of surprise as he stared up at his younger brother. "How?"

Al shrugged his metal shoulders. "The answer really was in front of us the whole time." He muttered, trying to hide the real truth from him. He didn't like lying to him. They were so close; it seemed sometimes that Ed could see through his lies. But everything was falling into place now.

It had to be done.

Memories in the Rain

The transmutation circle was already made. All Al had to do was get him there. It really was simple. Ed was nervous and excited at the same time, talking to him about finally fulfilling his promise. Al tried to pay attention, which only made thinking alot harder. It took everything he had to not come out and blurt out the truth. But somehow, he managed not to.

All too soon, they were at the house. Ed caught sight of the transmutation circle and gawked at the complexity of it for a moment, before bending down to inspect it. "You sure everything's fine?" He asked cautiously.

Al could only nod. Waiting until he was sure his brother wasn't looking, he drew a long, twisted dagger from inside his armor and gripped it tightly behind his back. He had to do it now, before the growing storm washes the circle away.

"Brother...?" He breathed out. His voice cracked slightly. Ed looked at him with a slight frown. "What is it, Al?"

"You said...you said you'd do anything to get me a body again, right?" Al asked, his voice sounding small, echoing weakly in the armor. Ed stared at him for a long time, probably trying to understand the question. "Yeah, I did." He finally replied; his head tilted slightly in a shrewd way. "Why do you ask?"

Al gripped the dagger harder, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry." He whispered harshly. Ed gave him a puzzled look.

The dagger lashed out from behind his back, just as he had whipped forth his other hand to knock Ed down. Ed hit the ground hard. "You crazy?!" He yelled furiously. Al tried hard to ignore him, forcing him down on the ground, pinning him to it with his first arm, the other holding the knife high above his head. Ed's golden eyes widened as a sudden lightning bolt shone, flashing light on the dagger.

"Al...! What are you doing?!" Ed managed to yell. Al set the dagger down, tearing through red and black cloth and pressed the cold metal against his bare chest, the tip just piercing his skin. Ed winced, his eyes wide and his pupils small. "No...! Al! No! Stop! Please!" He screamed. Al grimaced. It was so much harder to do when he was begging for his own life.

No! You have to do this!

Ed's voice was starting to die down, being choked out by the blood that burbled from his throat in waves. Ed was choking on the blood that seemed to be drowning his systems, screaming through the thick scarlet bubbles. It sounded horrible, a ragged gurgle that ripped through his body in a sudden spasm. The sound of it echoed through Al's soul, almost making him regret ever starting this. But it was already too late; Ed's voice died and his eyes went blank. He stopped trying to fight Al off him. He stopped moving at altogether. In the same moment, the rain choked off and stopped.

The blood around Ed's body was rapidly spreading, staining the ground with crimson. Al grimaced again; he never thought there'd be so much blood in someone. Even if the rain had probably thickened the flow of blood.

Al shook his head hard. No, he couldn't think about it now. It was too late to go back now. Dropping the dagger to the ground, he clapped his hands together and slammed them onto the circle.

.x.O.x.

"I can't believe you'd do this." Winry glowered at the boy who'd stolen his brother's body. Backing up more, she bumped against the corner of the walls and cursed under her breath. She had been cornered.

Al stared at her calmly through Ed's eyes, making her shiver. "I did what I had to do to get a body." He whispered, closing his eyes and sighing. "Brother knew that he was risking his own life to get me a body."

"Shut up, Al!" Winry screamed. Her eyes were suddenly filled with hot, stinging tears that she refused to let fall. "Ed was your own brother, you had no right to-" She froze when he extended a hand towards her and drew back, not wanting to touch a monster like him.

Al frowned, touching her cheek despite her wincing at his touch. "Winry...you should've known how I've felt...I didn't really want to do this..." He smiled slightly, gently stroking her cheek. "But, see...I can finally _feel_ now...you're so warm..."

"That still...you didn't have to..." Unable to put her words together, she slapped his hand away instead. "He promised you he'd get your body back! Why couldn't you wait for him?!"

Al frowned again, staring down at his open palm. "I got tired." He said simply, balling his hand into a fist. "Tired of waiting for things to happen. And I didn't have time to wait...at anytime my soul could've been rejected..." He trailed off, looking thoughtful, as if there was something he had just realized. "I think my soul being so close to Brother's means I can keep the body longer."

"How could you just talk like that," She glared at him through tears. "You monster!" She yelled, reaching for her back pocket. Her fingers closed around a flat metal, which she gripped and lashed out, striking the wrench across his face.

He barely moved when he was hit. Al blinked, touching the wounded area and winced slightly, staring at the blood from his cheek now staining his fingertips. "Ow," He muttered with a frown. "That really hurt, Winry." He said in almost a whine, tugging on a small tear she never noticed on his black shirt. "Don't you think I was hurt enough already?" He asked, ripping the shirt open.

Winry gawked at the open wound on his chest, deep but not very wide, and still dripping with blood through clotted areas. "Th-that's where..."

"You're starting to bother me." Al smiled again as he let his shirt down. "I was planning on making this painless, but now I think this will have to hurt."

"W-what?" Winry choked out. Al just smiled again, like he used to when he had his own body. It was strange to see on Ed's face. He leaned his face closer to hers and gently pressed his lips against hers, making her eyes widen. He pulled away quickly and covered her eyes with his flesh hand, whispering in her ears. "I love you," He breathed out, his breath hot against her flesh. She shuddered.

He pulled away and uncovered her eyes. She just stared at him, her unshed tears betraying her as they raced down her face. "...I...did too." She managed to choke out.

He blinked and smiled, and for the second time she thought she could see him smiling through his stolen body. Then Al finally lifted his other arm that he had hidden behind his back. With a horrified gasp, she realized it ended in a blade.

Too late.

**---**

**Mwahaha. I plan for a sequel to this one in a new series, yatta! Didn't get as many flames as expected...that's good...I...guess...anyway, review me!**


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